Nature – Jennifer's Journal

Wild Geese

Published on January 20, 2019March 20, 2019 by J. Kelland Perry23 Comments

Beloved poet Mary Oliver passed away on Thursday at the age of 83. Oliver’s poems were much inspired by the link between the natural world and spirituality.

When I read her poem Wild Geese back in 2015, it stirred me to write about my feelings of belonging, or lack thereof, and of my own place in the world.

Having lived through a number of moves, changes, and upheavals, my transitions often deemed me as a newcomer who will probably always feel a little like someone on the outside, looking in.*

Yet, when I read that poem and let the words sink in, they seem to grant me the freedom to love and experience all the things that mean the most to me. I can now belong in this life I’ve created, just as everyone belongs to the bigger picture that is the universe, to bear witness to a journey filled with joy, sorrow, and exquisite beauty.*

Of course, Mary Oliver said it better than I ever could:

*Excerpts from my blog post: Belonging, March 12, 2015.
Many of the comments on your own feelings of belonging were a real eye-opener for me!

What is “your place in the family of things”?

Autumn Walk on the East Coast

Published on October 6, 2012October 4, 2017 by J. Kelland Perry18 Comments

Come along as we take a stroll through Newtown on this beautiful October day.

autumn walk 009 — The tide is high this afternoon.

autumn walk 013 — Much of my next door neighbour’s garden is still summer lovely.

autumn walk 030 — I stopped to admire another neighbour’s potato harvest. Of course, he insisted I take a bagful.

autumn walk 075 — Dogberries, a true harbinger of Fall

autumn walk 086 — Still wearing his shorts in October, and loving it

autumn walk 111 — Our other neighbour is drying salt fish.

autumn walk 113 — Freshly painted grapnels for next year’s fishing season

autumn walk 115 — Kitties, you should have come with us.

Travel Theme: Foliage (and Other Living Things)

Published on September 30, 2012May 6, 2013 by J. Kelland Perry8 Comments

Trees and their foliage are, without a doubt, some of Nature’s most wondrous treasures.

But sometimes, the best photograph of a tree is not as much about the tree itself, but what is found in and among its foliage and branches.

Like in this photo I snapped in Varadero, Cuba, you may see tiny birds:

…two “love birds”, perhaps?

Or you might happen upon a couple of sister cats exploring among the leaves:

And if you see a magnificent tree such as this one day, don’t be surprised to find little children playing among its sturdy limbs:

L & J — Bowring Park, St. John’s, Newfoundland

This has been my contribution to wheresmybackpack.com’s weekly Travel Theme.
This week: Foliage

Thank you for the inspiration, Ailsa!

Travel Theme: Foliage (ahecticlife.wordpress.com)
travel theme: foliage (starlight427.wordpress.com)
Travel Theme: Foliage (windagainstcurrent.com)

Summer

Published on August 18, 2012September 15, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry5 Comments

the sea breeze softly whispers
hot sun on my skin
the drone of bees, the sway of grass
the cloudless day begins

a bead of sweat runs down
I sigh with upturned face
consummate season’s reverie
in nature’s warm embrace

wild magenta roses
bright petals downy soft
tiny nodding buttercups
and butterflies aloft

boat with sail unfurled
glides out from little cove
horizon, mediterranean blue
the sea a treasure trove

the quietude is broken
a fisher homeward bound
his vessel leaves a foamy wake
then seabirds circle ’round

a lone tern drops and dives
the laughing gulls ignore
they soar o’er brimming neap tide
where kelp adorns the shore

beside crystalline water
wrapped in summer’s heat
reflections blur and coalesce
my past and present meet

the world is as it’s ought
vague worries fall away
caught in the brief eternity
of a summer day

Canada Day weekend..

Published on July 4, 2012July 1, 2017 by J. Kelland Perry11 Comments

Okay, this is the first time we ever had friends come to dinner – in a CANOE!

Another wonderful thing about living the coastal life. 🙂

Happy Birthday Canada! (kamafitness.wordpress.com)
Canada Day Cook Out (withoutadornment.wordpress.com)
O Canada (dreambles.com)

Scenes From Italy – Part Four: Stresa

Published on June 1, 2012March 26, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry7 Comments

We said goodbye to half of our group whose time had come to fly home, as well as “ciao” to Tuscany, then the four of us rode by train to northern Italy. Nestled by Lake Maggiore in the foothills of the Italian Alps, the pretty little town of Stresa was a welcome sight. We checked into a B & B, our home for the next few days.